Unemployed engineers to get maintenance works of power cos in Maharashtra

Mumbai: The state government today said the maintenance and repair works of the power companies will be assigned to unemployed engineers through a direct lottery system.

This would be on lines of the system adopted by Public Works Department, and power utilities (distribution, transmission and generation) will give maintenance and repair works to unemployed engineers, Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said while talking to reporters here.

"These electrical engineers will be registered under B1 category and they will be given works of Rs 50 lakh annually with a maximum of Rs 10 lakh per single job. If the engineers complete the allotted work within the given deadline in the first year, they will again be given another five years' projects worth Rs 75 lakh in the second year," he said.

Around 50 per cent of the maintenance and repair works of the total works of power utilities will be given to these engineers, he said.

"This will be a boon for the unemployed engineers," Bawankule said.

He also announced formation of district level and taluka level Power Distribution Controlling Committees headed by the district guardian ministers and MLAs of large constituencies,respectively.

"A senior official from Mahavitaran will be the member secretary of committees and the representatives of residential, businesses, industrial and agricultural (consumer) categories will be members," he said.

"This committee will review the various schemes initiated by Mahavitaran like collection of bills, (against) illegal use of power, and also the delay in giving electricity connections to the residential and agricultural consumers who have already paid for new connection," Bawankule said.